Notable US-Bred and -Sired Runners in Japan: June 12, 2022

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Sunday running at Chukyo and Hakodate Racecourses:

Sunday, June 12, 2022
2nd-HAK, ¥9,900,000 ($74k), Maiden, 3yo, 1700m
SWEET ZAZ (f, 3, Nyquist–Century Park, by General Meeting) was beaten double digits into 12th when debuting in a nine-furlong turf event in March, but switches to perhaps a more suitable surface for this second go. A $67K Keeneland September buyback, the late April foal is out of the winner of the 2009 GIII Santa Ysabel S. (synthetic) who was purchased by Narvick International out of the 2017 KEENOV sale and produced a filly by Exaggerator in Kentucky that was subsequently exported to Japan. Century Park dropped Sweet Zaz in the Bluegrass and has also since been sent to Japan, where she foaled a colt from the first crop of GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Four Wheel Drive (American Pharoah) Mar. 25. B-Takahiro Wada (KY)

5th-CKO, ¥13,400,000 ($100k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200mT
PROTOPOROS (JPN) (c, 2, War Front–Cavale Doree {Fr}, by Sunday Break {Jpn}) debuts in the Carrot Farm green-and-white hoops and is the first foal from his dam, a Group 3 winner in France and third in the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf for trainer Christophe Ferland. Cavale Doree was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida for 650,000gns ($883,272) with this colt in utero at the 2019 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. B-Northern Racing

プロトポロス
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— 虚構 (@ultrasound99) June 8, 2022

ART PEPPER (c, 2, Frosted–Tim's Girl, by Broken Vow) cost trainer Hideyuki Mori $150K at KEESEP last year and is out of an unraced full-sister to Grade I-placed juvenile filly Broken Spell–the dam of SW Lord Dragon (Oxbow)–and a half-sister to recent Horseshoe Indianapolis S. winner Heavenly Hellos (Overanalyze). The gray colt's third dam Be a Prospector (Mr. Prospector), a half-sister to the important sire Belong to Me, produced MGSW Away (Dixieland Band), the dam of MGSW/GISP Eight Belles (Unbridled's Song). B-Lemon's Mill LLC (KY)